4-time stroke survivor on journey from Maine to Miami

Mycle Brandy is more than three weeks into a 2,000-mile walk from Maine to Miami, a journey the four-time stroke survivor from San Clemente began Oct. 1 on a bridge at the Canadian border.

On Tuesday, Day 23, he awoke to clear skies in Maine, a low blanket of fog shrouding a stretch of the nearby Kennebec River. Fall colors were brilliant at some spots along the road but were fading at most places.

There was a cold bite in the air at dawn. It quickly lifted as the sun climbed while Brandy plied state Highway 201, doing about 3 mph toward Miami, a destination he hopes, despite some recent delays, to reach on New Year's Day.

Along the way, he will visit hospitals and appear in newspapers and on TV, spreading a message that there is life after a stroke – and that, if he can do this, so can others. He will wave to thousands of oncoming motorists.

He had been to three hospitals in Maine so far, telling his story to staff and patients.

At 6-foot-4 and 315 pounds, Brandy, 61, strikes an imposing example. If such a person could walk 2,940 miles across America in 2010 and 1,450 miles up the West Coast in 2011, surely many other stroke patients can return to an active life. Brandy hasn't suffered a stroke since before he started training in 2004 for his first marathon. He has since walked nine marathons, supported by his cane.

By day's end Tuesday, the retired glazer had completed nearly 16 more miles, ending at the steps of the state capitol in Augusta.

"Maine is an incredibly beautiful state," Brandy said outside a farm between Winslow and Vassalboro. "The people are wonderful."

On Wednesday, he was heading toward Brunswick, another 15 miles or so of walking, in support of the OC Stroke Association. On Thursday, his sidekick, Don Goodman, is prepared to drive him more than four hours south for a prearranged visit to Groton, Conn., to address patients, nurses and doctors at a hospital there.

LENDING SUPPORT

Goodman, a 67-year-old retiree from Wildomar, volunteered to escort Brandy on the Maine-to-Miami walk and bought a new Dodge Durango in Orange County for the trip. Goodman was a program analyst at Quest Diagnostics in Orange County in 2005 when a presentation to employees by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association inspired him to join a program that recruits people to do marathons while raising funds for the cause.

Goodman met Brandy in training. They became friends, and when Brandy set out to walk across America in 2010, Goodman drove to New Mexico to provide backup for him over the Continental Divide along the most isolated stretch of the journey.

Goodman isn't a stroke victim, but he had a motorcycle accident 25 years ago. "I had a broken back, a severe concussion, broken leg, both arms," he said. "I've been dealing with post-head-injury problems ever since. They thought I was going to be paralyzed. That didn't happen. They thought I was going to be much more disabled than I am. It's really nice that ... I have the ability to do this."

It's a big sacrifice for Brandy to be away from his wife, Louise, for so long, and for Goodman to be away from his wife, Pat. "She thought I should do this," Goodman said. "I thought I should do it too. It's a great adventure. But the adventure is truly helping Mycle succeed with this."

MAKING FRIENDS

Along the way, Brandy is picking up Facebook friends – about 2,500 at latest count, many of them with him since 2010. On Monday, he stopped to chat with six people in Maine, and five of them visited his Facebook page that evening, Goodman said.

One day last week, Brandy walked 27 miles. Delayed in recent weeks by blisters and a stomach ailment, he is behind schedule and plans to walk more marathon distances to try to make up time once he's back at full strength. On Nov. 4, he plans to participate in an actual 26.2-mile race, the New York City Marathon.

"I've already shown myself that I can do a marathon," Brandy said. "After the (NYC) marathon, I'm going to have to do some marathon days. Don is the task master. He drives me out to where I have to start (the day). He kicks me out of the vehicle and he says, 'Get going!'"